CITYBEATS POP QUIZ 2004

1. Under the city's ethics code, what's the dollar amount in gifts-not campaign contributions-a member of the City Council or the mayor can receive from a single source annually?

2. What year did San Diego become a city?

3. How many homeless are estimated to live in the city of San Diego?

4. How many minutes on a city parking meter do you get for a quarter (25 cents)?

5. Between June 2002 and June 2003, murders in San Diego were up by what percent?

6. What is the role of the city's Human Relations Commission?

7. What was the Chargers' record this year?

8. What's the estimated healthcare deficit in the pension

system (total unfunded cost of healthcare benefits for retirees)?

9. For 2003, what was the median home price in the city of San Diego?

10. Spell the city manager's last name.

The Answers

1. The mayor or a member of the City Council can receive up to $340 in gifts from a single source each year. The maximum campaign contribution from a single donor is $250.

2. In 1542, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo landed in San Diego Bay and claimed it for Spain. Spanish missionaries first settled San Diego in 1769 and in 1821 San Diego came under Mexican rule. In 1848, Mexico ceded the territory to the U.S and in 1850, San Diego became California's third city.

3. Roughly 5,500 homeless people live in San Diego. Roughly 15,000 live in San Diego County

4. In May 2003, the City Council voted to up the cost of meter parking to $1.25 an hour, or 12 minutes for a quarter. The rate increase is expected to generate more than $2 million a year for the city.

5. The murder rate was up by 16.7 percent, according to a 2003 mid-year report put out by the San Diego Police Department (the report covered June 2002 through June 2003; we accidentally asked the majority of our test-takers what was the murder rate increase between January 2002 and January 2003, so cut them a little slack). Overall violent crime during the same period was up 5.4 percent.

6. According to the city's website, the Human Relations Commission "prepares and distributes educational and information materials related to prejudice and discrimination and recommends way and means of eliminating discrimination."

7. The Chargers finished the season with 4 wins and 12 losses.

8. The healthcare portion of the city's pension system is estimated to be $1.1 billion short of where it should be.

9. According to DataQuick, a real estate news service, the average home price in the city of San Diego in 2003 was $380,000. The San Diego Housing Commission put the county's median home price at $409,000

10. Like him or not, the city manager's last name is: U-B-E-R-U-A-G-A. It's pronounced Ooo-ber-ah-gah

Mayor

Through a campaign staffer, Mayor Dick Murphy declined to participate in our quiz, saying that with his busy schedule, he "didn't even have a second" to spare. Coming up with ways to dodge important campaign issues-something the Murphy tries very hard to do-takes a lot of time.

Likewise, mayoral candidate Ron Roberts claimed not to have the three and a half minutes (on average) necessary to take the quiz. We understand-Roberts is a two-time mayoral election loser, so he must need every available minute to overcome that.

Jim BellEcological designer/author/lecturerAge 62

1. This is what they can receive from a single source annually for campaigning? Oh gee, $100? One hundred dollars and as much as they can get away with [Laughs].

2. 1800?

3. 50,000.

4. 12 minutes.

5. About 30 percent.

6. I have no idea. What it should be doing is helping people have access to the appropriate government agencies to get their business done. I know that's probably not it.

10. [Laughs]. I don't have a clue. Besides, I'm going to fire him when I get elected.

Peter Q. DavisPort Commissioner/businessmanAge 63

1. Uh, I think that's $340.

2. San Diego became a city probably in 1850-that's when Mayor Bean was elected as mayor, so I'd say 1850. Joshua Bean-he was the brother of Judge Bean, the hanging judge out of El Paso, Texas. He was our first mayor and he was the mayor in 1850. Now, California became a state in 1849, didn't it? Or 1848. 1850 was when we had our first mayor, so I would assume that it isn't really an official city until it has a mayor.

3. The county or the city? I'm guessing probably about 3,000.

4. They changed that, didn't they? So you probably get about 12 minutes.